The Edit List
Cowboy Bebop - ep. 17 & 18
by Kyle Pope,
Only one edit this time over two episodes but that edit is a real head scratcher. On the other hand we had an episode that I thought may have been far too controvertial to air and CN aired it virtually uncut. I was impressed.
Cowboy Bebop: Mushroom Samba
1) Gunshot sounds edited out of title music.
What the hell!? Cowboy Bebop is a series riddled with gunfire. We've seen people shoot guns and get shot by them. The idea that CN should find it necessary to edit out the sound of gunfire in the theme while showing guns actually being fired with lethal intent in the very same episode pushes well beyond the established boundaries of reason. Regardless I am still surprised this episode ran. Drug humor has pretty much been purged from popular entertainment in our "Just Say No", war on drugs culture. And here we have our heroes each enjoying their personal magical mystery tour courtesy of hallucinogenic mushrooms (I'm curious as to what effect one of those mushrooms would have had on Ed). This is in addition to the seventies blaxplo stereotypes being parodied in the episode. Running this episode on US TV took a lot of guts and I give CN full credit for it.
Cowboy Bebop: Speak Like a Child
1) No edits.
Another one for the intact column. Again one of CB's benign offerings though a very touching one as it gives us some understanding of Faye who, up until this episode, wasn't a character deserving of much sympathy. From here out things get interesting. Wild Horses is not one of CB's better offerings but following it is the chilling Pierrot Le Fou. And then there's Cowboy Funk. Arguably this is CB's funniest episode giving us Cowboy Andy, a one-shot character everybody wants to see again. However recent events puts the airing of this episode in doubt as the plot involves the pursuit of a terrorist bomber who targets tall buildings. Since CN edited out a missile strike against a skyscraper in Jupiter Jazz I don't know how comfortable they'd be with an entire episode devoted to exploding skyscrapers. Anyway, eight more episodes to go.
Kyle
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